Agriculture: Livestock

Project Nandini, a livestock information system implemented by the Government of Orissa, aims to provide extension services to cattle farmers in Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack and Mayurbhanj districts of the state.

Stagnating yields, loss of biodiversity and damaged soil conditions are haunting the farmers of Punjab. The immense pressure put on soils due to intensive monocultures of wheat and paddy and displacement of other nutrient-rich crops has severely degraded its quality. Reckless fertiliser use has also deteriorated productivity and contaminated water bodies in the area.

The cattle and livestock market saw a great dip in its sales following the human anthrax outbreak in Bangladesh. The Ministry of Health has reported nearly 500 cases in the past one month. The government has now launched an awareness campaign and claims to have sufficient supplies of livestock anthrax vaccines.

FAO has launched a new web portal to facilitate a single access point for international and national information related to farm animal welfare. Policymakers, farmers, scientists and animal welfare experts can now access research findings, relevant legislation and policies on livestock through this online gateway.

The spread of the influenza A(H1N1) virus is linked to the way food is produced in factories, says Sunita Narain, Director, Centre for Science and Environment. She argues that practices like intensive poultry farming with dense animal population help viruses spread fast causing outbreak of pandemics.

Kosi waters that inundated several northern districts of Bihar have not just affected humans but also animals. Teams from International Fund for Animal Welfare and Wildlife Trust of India are trying to save the livestock left behind from starvation and diseases.

More than 300,000 animals in Afghanistan have become prey to cold temperatures, severely devastating the livelihood of local farmers. Such extreme weather conditions are causing unprecedented miseries in the country, where more than 900 people have died due to cold this winter.

First of its kind in India, the Rajasthan State Cooperative Department has launched the ‘Kisan SIM card’. Farmers can now get free tips on various aspects of farming from weather updates to guidance on livestock rearing to crop infection through SMS and voice messages.